


Granite Cave

by magumarashi



Series: Hoenn Memories [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:55:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12644715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magumarashi/pseuds/magumarashi
Summary: Laura sets out for Slateport City to fulfill her errand for Mr. Stone, but a malfunctioning ship strands her in Dewford Town.





	Granite Cave

**Author's Note:**

> After I saw the cave paintings in omega ruby I was like “wait, these would have also been there when Laura was younger” and so decided to write this, even though originally I hadn’t planned to write about Laura in Dewford. I was able to turn this scene into a bit of plot foreshadowing as well, too. Funny how that works out!
> 
> Also I love writing Steven because I get to flex my geologist muscles, haha

_Laura met up with Terry on the way out of town. They both bragged about winning a badge, and decided to fight to see which of them was stronger. It was a close fight, but Terry won. Terry said he’d heard that there might be a gym in Slateport, and that he’s headed there now. He challenged her to a race to get all the badges. However,_ _Terry didn’t think they should try to get to Slateport today, since the sea might be rough at night. They decided to head out the next day._

_The following day the two of them talked to Mr. Briney and his Pellipper, Pepper. They were joined by Steven, who was given permission to go on a journey so long as he delivered another package on the way out–this one to Wattson in Mauville. They got a ride… but their ship broke down and they had to stop in Dewford for repairs. Mr. Briney told them it would take a few days for a mechanic to come, so in the meantime they should relax–after all, they’re lucky they were able to make it to land._

 

“Aaargh, this _sucks!”_

Laura picked up a rock and chucked it into the ocean, producing a satisfying _sploosh_ as it sunk between the waves. The afternoon sun sparkled on the surface of the sea. They’d barely been in Dewford for an hour, and she was already bored. They’d spent a little bit of time in town, but there really wasn’t much of interest. Even the local gym looked more like a regular fitness center than a Pokémon gym. Terry had run off somewhere to train, leaving the other two trainers on the beach.

“There’s nothing to do on this stupid island!” said Laura, “Who knows how long we’ll be stuck here…?”

“Well, there’s no use whining about it,” said Steven. He picked up a rock, examined it, and set it back down gently in the sand, “We may as well find something to occupy ourselves with. I wonder if there are any trainers to battle? Beldum and I need to practice more.”

“If I had a trainer to battle… I’d knock ‘em flat! That’s how mad I am!”

Laura chucked another rock into the ocean, making a bigger splash than before.

“Well, I’m fine staying on the beach,” said Steven, “I’ve never been to Dewford before, and all these rocks are so intriguing…”

“You… really like rocks, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Steven admitted, “My father collects rare stones, and I’ve sort of inherited the hobby from him. I have lots of books about rocks back at home.”

Steven picked another rock up off the ground and held it close to his face, examining every inch of it.

“These rocks have been worn down, so it’s hard to tell… but I’m 90% sure they’re granites.”

“Huh? What about this one?”

Laura picked up the rock nearest her and handed it to him. Steven looked it over, and then nodded.

“Also a granite. It looks just like the one I’m holding. Actually, a lot of the rocks I’ve found here so far are granites. I wonder if there’s a batholith nearby…”

“A bath-o-what?”

“A batholith,” said Steven, as if that was a word everyone would know, “A huge igneous intrusion deep in the earth’s crust.”

“Huh…” said Laura. Steven’s explanation hadn’t helped any, but she nodded anyway.

“It would make sense if there was one here, considering Hoenn’s geologic setting,” said Steven, “There are several batholiths here in Hoenn, according to my book on volcanoes.”

“You sure know a lot about rocks, Steven,” said Laura.

“W-well,” Steven puffed himself up a little, “I have been collecting them for a long time, after all.”

“I don’t know much about rocks,” said Laura. She snatched back the rock she’d shown him, “I just like chucking them at stuff!”

Laura tossed the rock into the ocean, generating another loud _sploosh_.

“Hey!” said a voice, “Don’t throw rocks at the water!”

“Huh? Why not?” Laura and Steven turned to see a blue-haired boy their age approaching them, surfboard in hand.

“It scares the Pokémon!” said the boy, “How would you like it if you were just minding your own business, and suddenly a rock comes out of nowhere and almost hits you?”

“That would be scary…” said Steven.

“I didn’t think about that,” said Laura, “Sorry…”

“Nah, it’s okay,” said the boy, “I’ve never seen you two before. Did you just get here?”

“Yeah,” said Laura, “I’m from Littleroot, and he’s from Rustboro.”

“I see!” said the boy. His entire demeanor changed; now he seemed outgoing and friendly, “Makes sense that you don’t know, then. Anyway, welcome to Dewford! What brings you out here?”

“We were on our way to Slateport, but our boat broke down,” Steven explained, “We’re just here until it gets fixed.”

“Ah, that’s a bummer,” said the boy, “I’m Bryce, but everyone around here calls me Brawly cuz I like to fight!”

“I’m Laura.”

“Steven. Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you guys too!” said Brawly, “I’m gonna catch a few waves; wanna watch? Me ‘n Makuhita can shred like the pros!”

“Shred…?” said Steven.

“Well, it’d give us something to do,” said Laura with a sigh, “Unlike my friend here, I’m not that into rock collecting.”

“Hey–!”

“Rock collecting, huh?” Brawly turned to Steven, “If you like rocks, there might be some cool ones in Granite Cave–that’s not that far from here. It’s pretty dark though; if you don’t have a Pokémon that can use Flash, you’ll be out of luck.”

“Uh…” said Steven, “I only have one Pokémon, so…”

“That’s okay,” said Brawly, “I’ve got my Meditite. Do you wanna check out the cave? I’ll go with.”

“Weren’t you going to, uh, ‘shred’?” said Steven.

“Eh, there's always more waves,” said Brawly, “You coming, Laura?”

Laura sighed.

“I _guess_.”

“It’s not just a bunch of rocks in there,” said Brawly reassuringly, “Granite cave has some cool cave paintings too.”

Laura didn’t think that sounded any more interesting than the rocks, but she didn’t want to get left on the beach alone. She grudgingly agreed to come with.

* * *

Granite Cave wasn’t a long walk from the beach, and the three of them passed several fisherman as they walked. Laura battled and captured a Wingull on the way there, determined to keep this day from being a total loss.

The entrance to Granite Cave was narrow, just wide enough for one person to slip through–unlike Rusturf Tunnel, this cave had been largely untouched by humans. Brawly went in first (leaving his surfboard outside), with Steven right behind him, and finally Laura. The inside of the cave was pitch dark, lit only by the sliver of light from the opening, and was much wider than the entrance had made it seem. There was a flash of light as Brawly let Meditite out of its Pokéball: a human-like Pokémon with a large head and eyes.

“Okay, dude, use flash!” said Brawly. Meditite nodded, and it began to glow brightly. Meditite’s light was faint, but it cast enough light in the room that they could begin to make out their surroundings. Steven was already crouching on the ground near Meditite, picking up every other rock and holding it to the light for a better look. Laura wasn’t sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she thought she could make out primitive silhouettes on the walls.

“They’re cave paintings,” said Brawly, following her gaze, “People who lived here thousands of years ago put them here.”

“That’s incredible,” said Laura. Before she’d been unmoved, but now that she was looking at them in person, they seemed much more interesting, “They’re really that old?”

“Yeah,” said Brawly, “People in town say they’re like, 3,000 years old or something.”

“ _3,000 years?”_ Laura couldn’t even begin to fathom an amount of time that long.

Now even Steven was looking at the walls. He went up close to them, inspecting each brush stroke and figure closely.

“These are remarkable,” he said, “But I didn’t know Dewford had any cave paintings.”

“Yeah,” said Brawly, “Not a lot of people outside Dewford know these paintings are here–and most people want it to stay that way.”

“But why?” said Laura, “These are so cool, I’m sure a ton of people’d pay money to see them.”

“Yeah, but then Dewford would just turn into a tourist trap,” said Brawly, “We’re a quiet town, and nothing much happens here. Everyone would be annoyed if there were suddenly a bunch of tourists everywhere.”

“That makes sense,” said Steven.

“The coolest paintings are farther in,” said Brawly, “There’s one that’s one painting covering a whole wall!”

“Whoa!” said Laura.

“Let’s go check it out!” said Brawly. He started walking, and Meditite scrambled to keep up with him. Laura and Steven looked at each other before running to catch up too, neither wanting to be stuck alone in the dark.

As they walked deeper through the twisting tunnel, they came upon the sound of someone crying. It was faint and restrained, but nonetheless there. They turned a corner, and Meditite’s light fell on a young boy curled up against one of the walls, face buried in his hands. Laura recognized his hair and hat in an instant.

 _“Terry?!”_ she said, “Is this were you ran off to?”

“Huh? Laura?!” Terry scrambled to his feet, wiping his eyes haphazardly, “Y-yeah, this is where I went.”

“Are you alright?” asked Steven.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” said Terry loudly, “Just taking a break from training is all.”

“You were crying,” said Laura.

“Was not!” said Terry.

“You so were. Your eyes are all red!”

“T-they are not!” Terry insisted.

“You got lost because it’s so dark, didn’t you?” said Steven.

“What? I–fine, yeah, I got lost. But I was NOT crying!”

“Yeah, yeah, and I’m Littleroot Crimson.”

Brawly turned to Laura.

“This dude a friend of yours?”

“Yeah,” she said, “This is Terry. He got stranded in Dewford with us.”

“Well, you’re lucky we got here!” said Brawly with a smile, “Granite cave is awfully dark without flash!”

“No kidding,” said Terry, “But what are you guys doing here?”

“We came to see the cave paintings,” said Laura and Steven together.

“Cave paintings?” Terry looked around a little. Noticing the paintings on the walls, he added, “Oh! I didn’t even notice…”

“The coolest one is right through here!” said Brawly, indicating to the end of the corridor, “Come on, you guys really gotta see it. It’s wicked cool.”

“Lead the way,” said Laura.

The four of them walked deeper into the cave, following Meditite’s light. Laura could hear wild Pokémon scurrying and flitting around in the shadows, but most of them seemed to want to avoid the trainers rather than engage them. She almost wished the Pokémon would come out and attack, so that she wouldn’t have to imagine what they looked like…

* * *

Finally they came into a much larger room. Meditite increased its brightness, flooding the cavern with a warm light. Laura’s jaw dropped to the floor at the sight that awaited her.

A mural stretched from the floor to the ceiling, abstract shapes rendered in reddish-brown ink. The more she looked at it, the more those shapes started to take form: two massive Pokémon waging a fierce battle on land and sea. The taller Pokémon  was drawn brandishing its claws threateningly, volcanoes erupting at its feet and fire streaming from its mouth. The other Pokémon had been depicted waving its huge fins high into the air, drawing up tidal waves around its fishlike body and sending torrential rain down from the heavens. It was a terrible scene to begin with, but the massive scale of the mural made it seem larger than life. The ancients’ fear of these two Pokémon was clear in the painting they’d left behind, and she could almost feel a little of that fear herself just looking at it.

“Wait a minute,” said Laura, “I think I recognize these Pokémon.”

“You do?” said Brawly.

“Yeah,” said Laura, “My grandpa was always telling me stories about the Pokémon that shaped Hoenn. The big one with the spikes and fire must be Groudon, and the one near the rain is Kyogre!”

“Oh, I think I’ve heard of them before,” said Steven, “They’re legendary Pokémon, aren’t they?”

“Yeah!” said Laura, “Groudon made volcanoes erupt and raised continents, while Kyogre caused huge tidal waves and carved out oceans! This must be a painting of their huge battle!”

The four of them observed in silence for a little while longer, eyes passing over every detail. Laura found the drawings unnerving, but at the same time, she couldn’t take her eyes off them.

“I wonder if Pokémon like this really existed,” said Terry, “I mean, all we have left of them are stories and paintings…”

“I don’t know,” said Steven, “I can’t imagine that a real Pokémon could have so much power. They may have just been metaphors for earthquakes and storms–things that the ancients couldn’t explain any other way.”

“No way!” said Laura, “They were totally real–they had to be! How else would the ancient people know what they looked like?”

“They could’ve made something up,” Terry said with a shrug.

“Well, _I_ think they’re real,” said Laura, “Grandpa says that if it wasn’t for Groudon and Kyogre, Hoenn wouldn’t have Dragon Masters. Grandpa is a Dragon Master, so Groudon and Kyogre have to be real!”

“What do you mean?” asked Brawly.

“It’s all because of the third Pokémon!” said Laura.

“What third Pokémon?” said Steven.

“Yeah, there’s only two Pokémon in this painting,” said Brawly, “What’re you talking about, dude?”

“It’s there, I’m sure! We just have to look harder!” said Laura. She looked hard toward the top of the painting, where the third Pokémon should be–but it wasn’t there. All that was there was a glowing triangle shape, far above the other Pokémon’s heads.

“I can’t believe it’s not here,” said Laura, “The dragon Pokémon is the most important part!”

“Dragon?” said Terry.

“The dragon Pokémon that transformed itself to save Hoenn! Duh!” said Laura, “It’s the reason Groudon and Kyogre stopped fighting. Dragon Masters in Hoenn have been raising dragon Pokémon to honor it ever since!”

“Um, I’ve never heard of that Pokémon,” said Steven, “Sorry, Laura.”

“Me either,” said Brawly.

“Well, whatever,” said Laura, “One day I’ll get Grandpa to tell you the stories he tells me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Terry, “Come on, let’s get out of here. This is cool and all, but it’s starting to creep me out.”

“Okay,” said Brawly, “Everyone ready to head back?”

Laura took one last look at the mural, eyes focusing in on that glowing triangle. What could it have meant? It was set apart from the mural in a way that almost made it hard to notice–yet somehow it still felt like a part of the illustration as a whole.

“Laura?”

Laura looked back down to see Steven eyeing her quietly.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, “Let’s go back.”

The four of them made their way back out, following Brawly and Meditite’s lead. Laura couldn’t get the images from the cave out of her mind, even long after they’d emerged into the afternoon sun.

 _Even if Groudon and Kyogre really existed, they aren’t here anymore_ , she thought to herself reassuringly, _they’re asleep, or maybe even extinct. Nothing to worry about. It was just a drawing._

But the chill she got from the mural persisted for the rest of the day.


End file.
